A Short History of Freethought

A Short History of Freethought

Author: John M. Robertson

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2018-05-15

Total Pages: 589

ISBN-13: 373267214X

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Reproduction of the original: A Short History of Freethought by John M. Robertson


Freethinkers

Freethinkers

Author: Susan Jacoby

Publisher: Metropolitan Books

Published: 2005-01-07

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 1429934751

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An authoritative history of the vital role of secularist thinkers and activists in the United States, from a writer of "fierce intelligence and nimble, unfettered imagination" (The New York Times) At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason. In impassioned, elegant prose, celebrated author Susan Jacoby paints a striking portrait of more than two hundred years of secularist activism, beginning with the fierce debate over the omission of God from the Constitution. Moving from nineteenth-century abolitionism and suffragism through the twentieth century's civil liberties, civil rights, and feminist movements, Freethinkers illuminates the neglected accomplishments of secularists who, allied with liberal and tolerant religious believers, have stood at the forefront of the battle for reforms opposed by reactionary forces in the past and today. Rich with such iconic figures as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Clarence Darrow—as well as once-famous secularists such as Robert Green Ingersoll, "the Great Agnostic"—Freethinkers restores to history generations of dedicated humanists. It is they, Jacoby shows, who have led the struggle to uphold the combination of secular government and religious liberty that is the glory of the American system.


The Great Agnostic

The Great Agnostic

Author: Susan Jacoby

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2013-01-08

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0300137257

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A biography that restores America's foremost 19th-century champion of reason and secularism to the still contested 21st-century public square.


Just Pretend

Just Pretend

Author: Dan Barker

Publisher: Freedom from Religion Fndtn

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 71

ISBN-13: 9780318424958

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Free Speech

Free Speech

Author: Jacob Mchangama

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2022-02-08

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 154162033X

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“The best history of free speech ever written and the best defense of free speech ever made.” —P.J. O’Rourke Hailed as the “first freedom,” free speech is the bedrock of democracy. But it is a challenging principle, subject to erosion in times of upheaval. Today, in democracies and authoritarian states around the world, it is on the retreat. In Free Speech, Jacob Mchangama traces the riveting legal, political, and cultural history of this idea. Through captivating stories of free speech’s many defenders—from the ancient Athenian orator Demosthenes and the ninth-century freethinker al-Rāzī, to the anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells and modern-day digital activists—Mchangama reveals how the free exchange of ideas underlies all intellectual achievement and has enabled the advancement of both freedom and equality worldwide. Yet the desire to restrict speech, too, is a constant, and he explores how even its champions can be led down this path when the rise of new and contrarian voices challenge power and privilege of all stripes. Meticulously researched and deeply humane, Free Speech demonstrates how much we have gained from this principle—and how much we stand to lose without it.


Freethought and Freedom

Freethought and Freedom

Author: George H. Smith

Publisher: Cato Institute

Published: 2017-07-18

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 1944424385

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Liberty of conscience and freedom of thought are twin, core components of modern life in societies across the world. The ability to pursue one?s vision of the right and the good, coupled with liberty to pursue individual reason and enlightenment, helped produce so much of modern life that we may be apt to forget that libertarian philosophy was not dictated by Nature. Freethought and Freedom surveys the long history of religious and intellectual liberty, exploring their key ideas along the way.